Most Colleges Honoring No-Debt Pledges

Despite the severe hit many American colleges are having due to the recession, most colleges with no-loans policies are sticking with their agreements. According to a piece in the Chronicle of Higher Education:

Despite speculation that other colleges would follow Dartmouth College and Williams College in cutting back or dropping their no-loans student-aid policies, a new survey by the Project on Student Debt has found that none of the 50 other colleges the group identified with pledges to limit or eliminate loans plan to make major changes in those policies in the next two academic years.

Just because colleges refuse to saddle their students with debt doesn’t mean they’re being as generous as before, however. The Project on Student Debt survey indicated that many schools were adjusting financial aid policies to expect students to raise more money in the summer and expect families to make higher contributions.

Apparently 52 American colleges have made no-debt commitments to students. So far only two schools have changed their minds.